Meals with memories: Birria brings taste of home for holidays to some Arizonans

by Adnan Alam
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  • Photo, video story available (thumbnail, caption below)

By LILLIAN GRIEGO
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Holidays are a time for tradition, which typically means ham or turkey on the table in American households. But some Arizona families at this time of year will also be enjoying birria, a meat dish from Mexico.

“Birria, is a very traditional dish in the Mexican community and we include it in our celebrations and holidays,” said Efrain Gaytan, owner of Birrieria Obregon, a Mexican food restaurant in Phoenix.

The slow-cooked dish is originally from the Mexican state of Jalisco, where it is made out of goat meat seasoned with chilies and other spices, while in other regions of Mexico, lamb or beef may be used to make the birria.

Traditionally, the meat is cooked slowly in a pit, a process that can take up to 12 hours. But in Phoenix-area restaurants like Gaytan’s, the birria will stew in a giant pot for three to five hours to reach the right tenderness. The spicy Mexican stew can be eaten anytime, but is often served during celebrations like Christmas, Easter, weddings and baptisms.

Gaytan said there’s another secret to making great birria – “the combination of spices, time and the love you put into making it.”

For Carlos Garcia, making birria isn’t a problem – as long as he has family and places like Birrieria Obregon.

“I don’t know how to make it. I have relatives who make a very delicious birria, so it’s something I’ve grown up eating my entire life, ” said Carlos Garcia, a customer recently at Birria Obregon.

But given the time it takes to prepare birria, combined with the other work and holiday demands of the season, many people don’t have time to cook the dish at home. That makes birrierias popular stops at this time of year, with customers coming by for their birria fix or ordering the dish to go.

For customers like Luis Monive, a Gilbert resident who has been coming to Birria Obregon for a decade, it’s a comfort food that reminds hime of home – and then some.

“My body craves the dish,” Monive said recently while chowing down at the restaurant.

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Efrain Gaytan, a Phoenix restaurant owner, checks a pot of birria to see if the meat is ready. The recipe at Birria Obregon calls for cooking the spicy Mexican stew for up to five hours so the meat is tender. (Photo by Lillian Griego/Cronkite News)

The meat for birria, a spicy Mexican dish, is stewed in a pot for up to five hours. In Mexico, the meat is cooked slowly in a pit for up to 12 hours. (Photo by Lillian Griego/Cronkite News)

Birria is a spicy Mexican stew made with goat, lamb or beef. It’s served during celebrations like Christmas, Easter, weddings and baptisms. (Photo by Lillian Griego/Cronkite News)